Capital investment boosts sales for Stitch-it

£40K

increase in sales

3

jobs created and safeguarded

50%

turnover increased

The Overview

Stitch It Ltd is an innovative textiles manufacturer, which specialise in fabric design and embroidery. The firm supply work wear, leisure wear, school wear, corporate wear, hospitality items, pet clothing and gift wear for online retailers.

The Blackburn based business had built a reputation as a quality manufacturing firm, which focuses on attention to detail and customer service. Mark Robinson, Director of the business said:

“We have built a strong base of customers by offering a flexible, fast service at a competitive price. We have also developed a bespoke design service, which is made possible by our CNC embroidery processes.”

Mark Robinson, Director of Blackburn based Stitch It

The business wanted to grow by investing in faster equipment which would offer connectivity with design systems.

The Challenge

Stitch It was using equipment which was proving costly to operate and maintain, as spare parts were difficult to source. Mark said:

“I had the opportunity to take on new contracts, but was concerned that we would be unable to meet the demand using our existing machinery. We were using a single head unit which limited the production speed from the machine.”

“In addition, I wanted to develop better connectivity between our embroidery machine and our design systems. By investing in new equipment, we could speed up our processes and free up our existing PC to be used for new product design.”

“It was clear that Stitch It had attainable growth ambitions, and that financial investment in new equipment would help them achieve results. It was easy to recommend that they apply for one of the Growth Fund’s capital grants, which would provide the business with match funding towards the cost of the equipment.”

The Solution

Alan worked with Mark to submit the grant application and the business were awarded £6k to purchase a state of the art embroidery machine, which was implemented in early 2018. Mark said:

“The new equipment is already making a huge difference to Stitch It. It has improved the speed of production of our embroidered designs, which has created capacity for us to take on new business. Not only is the new equipment renowned as the best in the UK market, it connects with our existing systems and will provide us with data to support decision making.”

“Since the new equipment was installed we have doubled turnover, and I believe we will increase sales by around £40k by the end of 2018.”

“I’m so pleased with the support we received from the Lancashire Manufacturing Growth Fund, which will help us to achieve our growth ambitions. I am already recruiting for a new Production Operative to help us meet the increased demand for our products. “

Stitch It invested in new equipment with a grant from the Manufacturing Growth Fund